Many have described it as a 'return to dictatorship and Communist times.' The intelligence service is said to have tried to recruit technicians in charge of maintaining the party's IT system, in order to access internal party information and use it to rig the election.
Chalker claims that during his time at the C.I.A., he was instrumental in persuading Iranian scientists to defect, which provided crucial information that 'prevented Iran from getting a nuke.' His operations involved complex strategies and a deep understanding of the scientists' motivations.
William Burns had travelled halfway around the world to speak with Vladimir Putin, but in the end he had to make do with a phone call. It was November 2021, and US intelligence agencies had been picking up signals in the preceding weeks that Putin could be planning to invade Ukraine. President Joe Biden dispatched Burns, his CIA director, to warn Putin that the economic and political consequences if he did so would be disastrous.
A double agent, by contrast, is an intelligence asset who is knowingly and deliberately directed by one service to engage another in espionage. The controlling service uses that agent to feed information (called feed material) -true, false, or mixed-to the adversary. They do so to simultaneously study the adversary's tradecraft, collection priorities, and decision-making. In the Russian system, double agents also serve a bureaucratic function: they generate statistics, "success stories," and operational narratives that demonstrate effectiveness to political overseers and ultimately to Putin himself.
The assessment comes amid rising nuclear rhetoric between Moscow and Western governments over future security arrangements for Ukraine following the ongoing conflict. Analysts say Russian officials have amplified statements from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service to reinforce warnings about potential nuclear escalation. Particular diplomatic pressure appears to be directed at the UK and France, which are leading negotiations within the so-called Coalition of the Willing on potential security guarantees for Ukraine after hostilities end.
The SBU says the enemy has ramped up these operations, using phones, messaging apps, and even online dating platforms to trick people into carrying out dangerous acts. The SBU said, "During such operations, Russian agents telephone or message people, posing as employees of the SBU, the Main Intelligence Directorate, NABU, the National Police, and other law enforcement agencies." "The Security Service of Ukraine once again calls on citizens to maintain information hygiene and to exercise caution in contacts with unknown individuals," the SBU added.
The agency, known as the FSB, also released more surveillance video footage, including a nearly minute-long clip in which the alleged shooter -- identified as 65-year-old Lyubomir Korba -- was shown confessing to the crime. In the video, which could be not be independently verified, the man said he was recruited by Ukraine's SBU security agency in August 2025 in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil, and underwent training in Kyiv. He said he was promised $30,000 in cryptocurrency if he killed Alekseyev.
